Isaiah 64:1-9     OT p. 658 or 917

[1] O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence--

[2] as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil--
to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!

[3] When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

[4] From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.

[5] You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we transgressed.

[6] We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

[7] There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.

[8] Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.

[9] Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity forever.
Now consider, we are all your people.

[NRSV]

INTRODUCTION:

Recently I heard about a man from Scotland who was admitted to Oxford University. He moved into a dormitory. His clan was excited that one of their own had made it into such an exclusive school. His mother worried, though. She worried about how he'd get along with all those snobbish Brits in a strange land. She gave him a month to settle in, and then called him.

"How do you find the English students, Donald?" she asked.

"Oh Mother," he said, "they are strange and noisy people. The one on this side bangs his head against the wall all night and won't stop. The one on that side screams and curses until the sun comes up at dawn."

"Oh Donald," said his mother, "How do you put up with such rude, noisy, people?"

"I ignore them, Mother," said Donald. "I just sit here quietly each night, playing my bagpipes." (1)

I like the sound of the bagpipes. I'd like to learn how to play them. I guess it's my Scottish blood coming through. But I've got to tell you, that if some yokel was playing bagpipes all night long in the room next to me I think I'd be banging my head, screaming and cursing all night, too.

And if that didn't work, I'm afraid it would be like an Jerry Clower bit. He tells about going coon hunting with some friends. And it was John's job to go up the tree and shake down the coon. It was dark and no one could see that what was treed wasn't a coon but a bobcat. The folks down below kept hollering out, "Knock him out, John." Until John finally hollered back, "Shoot up here amongst us and give one of us some relief."

I think Isaiah must have known that feeling, too, he was looking for some relief. In the midst of his sermons and prophetic verses we have this prayer. Isaiah has read Israel the riot act. He's told them how far they have strayed from God and the Covenant. He's told them about the judgment that is coming and their need to repent.

And then he offers this prayer. And that's what it is, a prayer, not a sermon. A prayer that first of all sounds like the beginning of Bob Barker's game show "The Price Is Right." It begins with the words: "Come On Down."

I. COME ON DOWN:

A. Not only that but Isaiah wants God to give this big western John Wayne entrance, too. He writes:

[1] O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence--

This guy isn't pleased is he? Isaiah wants God to wade on in. Isaiah wants God to "Come On Down" and show the terrible splendor which God has shown in the past. Shake up the mountains. Make them rattle and thunder. Sign your handiwork and let everyone know just how powerful and awesome you really are O God.

Do something stupendous and miraculous so that no one will doubt ever again. Wake these people up, Lord. They've become complacent and aren't giving you the credit which is due Your magnificence.

Wake them up, shake them up, break them up.
Come On Down, Lord, like you did of old.
Come On Down, Lord, like the times we've been told.
Come On Down, Lord, and just grab ahold.
Wake them up, shake them up, break them up.
Come On Down, Lord, let Your story be retold.

There's an urgency in this prayer. Isaiah is ready for a major change in the people of Israel and he wants it now.

B. We know how Isaiah feels because there have been times when we've wanted God to "Come On Down" and enter into the midst of our situations.

Let's face it, when life is filled with ups and downs but all you can manage to do is go sideways, it's time for God to "Come On Down"

When your life is so full it feels like seven people crammed into the front seat of a Datsun pickup, it's time for God to "Come On Down"

If it feels like you're running the race with your shoestrings untied and you know you're going to trip but you can't slow down to tie them because you're afraid you'll get too far behind, then it's time for God to "Come On Down"

If life is treating you like the first one to fall asleep at a slumber party, then it's time for God to "Come On Down"

And that's what the Incarnation of Jesus Christ is all about. God heard Isaiah's prayer, God heard our prayers and our cries for help and God "Came On Down." God wrapped Himself up the rags of our flesh and blood, stepped out of heaven and into our lives as Jesus. God "Came On Down."

II. NO OTHER GOD LIKE YOU:

A. That's what made God so different from the idols. And that's the reason Isaiah wants God to "Come On Down." Not to wreak havoc but to show just how awesome God truly is. In verse four Isaiah prays:

[4] "From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him."

In other words, no one has ever seen another god like You, Lord. Let the whole world see your glory. Let everyone know who you are. Let everyone know how much you love us.

A young American woman was visiting China for the first time. She stood one morning in Canton in the midst of a Buddhist temple. The guide had told the party that this was the "House of 10,000 Buddhas," and it was easy to believe he had not exaggerated.

The girl stared at the countless carved wooden faces, some of which were hideous and most of which were grotesque. Finally she asked, "I have been looking for one that looks like the 'good shepherd,' but I don't see any. Don't they have one that cares?" (2)

That young woman knew what Isaiah new and wanted the whole world to know. Our God cares. Our God wants a personal relationship because our God cares about us personally.

B. There is a story told about Sam Rayburn who was Speaker for the House of Representatives longer than any other man. One of his friends lost a teenage daughter, and early the next morning Rayburn knocked on his door. "I just came by to see what I could do to help."

The father replied that there was nothing to do. "Well," Rayburn said, "have you had your coffee this morning?" The man replied that they had not taken time for breakfast.

While Rayburn was working in the kitchen fixing the coffee, the man came in and said, "Mr. Speaker, I thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this morning."

"Well, I was," Rayburn replied, "but I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in trouble and I could not come." (3)

That's exactly how God treats us when we're hurting, when we are in need. Christ enters into our lives to walk with us, guide us and help us. No wonder Isaiah wants God to "Come On Down." He wants everyone to know what a great God we have.

III. MOLD US, LORD:

A. Isaiah also acknowledges that we have blown it at times. He acknowledges that we've sinned and turned away. So he intercedes and asks God to remold us into what God would have us be.

Isaiah issues a call for Christian Perfection. God doesn't call us to be perfect. God calls us to follow so we can be perfected. God doesn't want perfect Christians. God wants Christians who can be perfected. And God uses a different standard than we do. You see, if we're perfect in our eyes, then there's no need to change, no need to grow, no room for growth. But when God begins to perfect us, we grow from the inside out until we're molded into what and who God wants us to be.

Thirty years ago, Tom Weller's car broke down as he was driving through Southern California. A stranger stopped to help Weller and wouldn't accept payment in return for his kindness. Instead, the stranger asked Weller to return the favor by stopping to help some other stranger somewhere.

Tom Weller took those words to heart. For the last thirty years, he has helped thousands of stranded people along Southern California's highways. He never asks for payment; instead, Tom Weller leaves behind a small business card asking each person to help someone else in need. It has become his mission in life to pass on the kindness that was once done for him. (4)

God has used the clay of the old Tom Weller and molded into a new creation. One, not perfect yet, but much more like Christ than before.

B. One Sunday on their way home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the Preacher's sermon this morning confused me."

Mom said, "Oh? Why is that?"

The little girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?"

The mother replied, "Yes, that's true, honey."

"And the Preacher also said that God lives in us? Is that true, Mommy?"

Again Mom replied, "Yes."

The little girl thought for awhile and asked, "Well, if God is bigger than us and God lives in us, wouldn't He show through someplace?" (5)

She's absolutely correct. When God lives in us, when Christ fills our hearts and the Holy Spirit guides our lives, God shows through in everything we do. And through the Holy Spirit God is leading us to let God show through even more. God is taking the clay of our old selves and molding us into something new. That's called Christian Perfection.

CONCLUSION:

In a remote Swiss village stood a beautiful church. It was so beautiful, in fact, that it was known as the Mountain Valley Cathedral. The Cathedral was not only beautiful to look at with its high pillars and magnificent stained glass windows, but was beautiful to hear.

You see, this church had the most beautiful pipe organ in the whole region. People would come from miles away; from far off lands, to hear the lovely tones of this organ.

But that's what the problem was. The columns were still there. The windows still dazzled with the sunlight. The sight of the valley and the Cathedral still took your breath away. But there was an eerie silence. The mountain valley no longer echoed the glorious fine-tuned music of the pipe organ.

In fact, the valley was either totally silent or worse yet filled with unbelievably horrible sounds. Something had gone wrong with the pipe organ. Musicians and experts from around the world had tried to repair it. Every time a new person would try to fix it the villagers were subjected to sounds of disharmony. And awful penetrating noises polluted the air.

One day an old man appeared at the church door. He spoke with the sexton and after a time the sexton reluctantly agreed to let the old man try his hand at repairing the organ. For two days the old man worked in almost total silence. The sexton was, in fact, getting a bit nervous.

Then on the third day, at high noon, the mountain valley was filled with the most glorious music you would ever want to hear. Farmers dropped their plows. Merchants closed their stores. Everyone in town stopped what they were doing and headed for the church. Even the bushes and trees of the mountain tops seemed to respond as the glorious music echoed from ridge to ridge.

After the old man finished his playing, a brave soul asked him how he could have fixed the organ? How could he restore music and harmony when even the world's experts couldn't do it?

The old man merely said it was an inside job, "It was I who built this organ 50 years ago. I created it and now I have restored it."

That is what God is like. It is God who created the universe and all that is in it. It's God who restores our broken lives. Through His Son he offers us new life. Through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, God takes the clay of our old selves and remolds them into the likeness of His Son.

It is God who "Came On Down" and stepped out of Heaven to become one of us. It's God who cares for us; Who enters our lives on a personal level and Who leads us on to perfection through Christ.

This morning God asks you to "Come On Down" to His table to receive the Sacrament. The earth won't shake, the mountains won't quake but you will be standing in the presence of the most awesome and awe inspiring miracle of all time.

1. The Jokesmith

2. A Treasury of Bible Illustrations, compiled by Ted Kyle and John Todd, AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, 1995, p. 231.

3. "A God to be Thankful For" by Roy L. Smith.

4. Charles Kuralt with Peter Freundlich. American Moments (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998), pp. 74-75.

5. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), September 1986

6. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), February 1987